


kiss with a spell

by starryJ



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship, brian is sweet and annoying, it's cute, jae is a responsible teacher, some lame dirty jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25726867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryJ/pseuds/starryJ
Summary: au, where jae is a literature teacher at university, while brian is a business major in his final year, who also happens to be jae's boyfriend. brian hates reading but decides to take literature, turning jae's life into a nightmare. jae wants him to pass the exam without using the privilege of being his boyfriend, but it seems like all brian cares about is annoying him every single class.oh, and they keep their relationship of six years in secret for the sake of jae's career. what's going to happen?
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae
Comments: 40
Kudos: 133
Collections: Day6 OTPs





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a little rushed and probably not the most logical and realistic thing ever, but i had lots of fun while writing it, so!!
> 
> i finally got to use my future degree knowledge somewhere, but you don't really have to know anything about the books mentioned here; i just got tired of everyone using shakespeare and decided to make it more realistic than studying the one and only author all the time.
> 
> i hope you can enjoy this little thing as much as i enjoyed writing that! pouty and cute teacher jae is now my favorite image💕
> 
> please let me know about your thoughts in the comments! stay safe and please take care of yourself <3

with a cup of ice americano in his right hand and a bag full of books in the left, brian is slowly making his way through the busy university halls. everyone around him is in a hurry, trying not to be late for their morning classes, but he takes his time, a smug smile on his face. he loves being at university in the mornings, when the whole building is full of life, when it feels like even the walls are breathing too.

the class he’s supposed to be attending right now has started about five minutes ago, but he doesn’t even think about running, instead stopping right in front of the door to finish his coffee first. when that is done too, brian doesn’t have any more excuses to not be in class and enters the classroom, not even bothering to knock first.

“late again, kang,” a familiar voice says, but it’s not angry. “come on in, take your seat.”

he is still polite enough to at least greet the teacher before making his way to the desk where he sits alone, to no one’s surprise, actually. see, brian kang is actually a very popular student despite his poor relationships with education and university rules, but not many people from the art department know who he is, which explains why he’s still sitting alone two months since the semester began.

taking literature in his final year was a decision everyone was surprised with, even his parents, who knew all too well that he can’t finish a single book without falling asleep halfway through it. literature is probably the most useless subject for his degree and he isn’t even interested in passing it whatsoever, but still attends every single class, always late, just to annoy the teacher.

ah, that hot teacher…

brian ignores the fact that he’s supposed to have his notebook open by now, instead he looks up to have a better look at the teacher. just a few years older than him, jae looks stunning in his sky-blue shirt tucked into a really tight pair of black jeans, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, making him look even hotter than usually. his blond hair shines so beautifully in the morning sunlight that brian stays distracted for at least another five minutes, already thinking about how much he’d like to ruffle jae’s hair, or, even better, pull at it to make it look less _perfect_ …

“now that everyone has finally calmed down, i have an important announcement to make and i want everyone’s attention,” jae’s soft voice brings him back to reality.

brian knows that the patient look of jae’s eyes is addressed to him, but chooses to ignore it too and turns his attention to the blackboard behind jae’s back. there’s nothing written there yet, and jae isn’t in the habit of writing things down during his lectures anyway, but it’s better than staring at the wall again. it’s him who wants jae’s full attention, and his goal for today is to make jae yell at him in front of his classmates. well, classmates would be a word way too strong for them as he still only knows just one face, but still.

brian hates that jae seems to always have full control of his emotions during his lectures, that none of his comments can make jae mad when he’s at work, but he doesn’t want to give up. he has another two months to achieve this little goal of his and a whole wonderful plan of how to do so. for now, he settles for ignoring jae, but finds it really difficult to focus on something else, because his soft melodic voice draws attention way better than anything else in the boring classroom.

“so, you better start reading before it’s too late, because this test is going to have a huge influence on your final results. kang, have you heard at least a word of what i’ve been talking about for the past ten minutes?”

jae’s voice is a lot colder now, but he can’t quite tell if he’s pretending to be mad or is actually annoyed. another thing brian hates is how difficult it is to read jae when he’s all professional and serious. he shrugs, enjoying that everyone’s attention is now drawn to him instead of jae, and thinks it’s a great opportunity to start working on his plan. someone giggles behind him, but he pretends not to hear it and instead focuses on jae’s eyes. he knows how difficult it is for jae to maintain eye contact, especially with him and his, as jae says, fox-like eyes.

“sorry, professor, i think i got distracted by something else,” brian says and jae raises an eyebrow at that.

come on, brian thinks to himself, ask what it is, please. but jae doesn’t fall into his games too easily anymore, knows brian is going to say something embarrassing. ah, this is going to be such a challenge, but it’s also going to be so, so worth it.

“i just woke up,” he continues, still looking jae in the eye. “it’s difficult to focus.”

the room becomes silent; brian can tell everyone is holding their breath, waiting for jae’s reply to that. their bickering has already become everyone’s favorite thing, and he knows people are even placing bets on who’s going to lose it first. little do they know, brian snorts.

“you don’t sound as if you just woke up,” jae says eventually, giving him green light without even noticing that.

“oh, professor, but how would you know?” he asks, enjoying the sight of jae’s cheeks turning pink at the question.

he knows his morning voice is one of jae’s biggest weaknesses and has no shame in using it against him every now and then. he’s curious about how jae is going to handle the situation, enjoying this part of the lecture way more than talking about some stupid novels he’s never even seen. or, rather, never opened, because he’s seen plenty of those books in jae’s tiny apartment.

it’s not that jae’s a bad teacher, no, sometimes he even actually manages to catch his full attention with some of his lectures, but for the most part brian is just staring at the ceiling or writing lyrics in his notebook, pretending to be taking notes. he has absolutely no interest in literature and only signed up for this class because he knew who was going to teach him; there’s nothing wrong with wanting to see your boyfriend a little more often, right?

jae doesn’t seem to think so, though, as he spends most of their dates complaining about how much he hates seeing brian in class doing completely nothing but distracting and embarrassing him. he keeps complaining and whining until brian shuts him up with a deep slow kiss, successfully putting an end to their small argument.

he could, of course, stop being such a bitch, but where’s fun in that? brian knew everything was alright because jae wasn’t that serious when complaining, or else he would have already been either kicked out of the classroom or had an actual conversation with jae about his stupid behavior. until then, he could say that jae was pretty much enjoying it too, well, for the most part.

“be careful with your words kang, or else…”

jae trails off and doesn’t finish the sentence, but does his best to look angry and threatening, yet all brian does is grin widely. he knows everyone is afraid of that “else” part, because jae shows no mercy when making students write additional essays, but he also knows jae’s not going to do anything like that with him. worst case scenario, he’d say no to having sex in this same classroom, but it’s not like brian can’t keep it to himself until they come back to jae’s apartment.

“anyways, enough of mr. kang’s attempts to ruin my lecture. today we’re going to talk about nathaniel hawthorne’s novel called ‘the scarlet letter’. has anyone read it before?”

jae nods, satisfied, when he notices more than half of the class raising their hands. someone asks if watching the film counts too, but brian isn’t listening anymore. he doesn’t care who that hawthorne is, although he thinks he heard something about this book before, and instead gets back to working on the lyrics of the song he’s planning to sing for jae as a christmas gift. jae’s voice is soothing and it would be a lie to say that it doesn’t inspire brian in a certain way; in fact, everything about jae serves as an inspiration for him.

half an hour through the lecture he dares to look at jae, who waves his hands, all excited and happy to pass his knowledge to others. brian looks around and notices that most of the people listen attentively, although some of them are just pretending because they’re polite, and almost feels guilty for not paying any attention. almost, because then jae suddenly drops his bookmark on the floor and, of course, brian has to be the one who jumps from his seat to pick it up for him. truth to be told, he doesn’t expect jae to blush furiously when their fingers brush, the touch lingering for a few awkward seconds, but comes back to his lyrics with twice as much energy.

“can anyone tell me, why exactly we should consider that everyone in this novel sinned and not just hester?” jae asks in a tired voice some time later.

the word “sin” is what brings brian’s attention back to the lecture. he knows jae’s been talking about it this whole time, but now that he’s finished the song and has nothing else to do in the last five minutes of the lecture, he finally starts listening. it doesn’t go unnoticed as the corners of jae’s lips go up a little bit, and jae looks hopeful when he turns the question at him. brian feels how his palms become sweaty all of a sudden and looks at jae with wide eyes.

he knows jae really wants him to give a proper answer because, hell, he isn’t stupid, and he doesn’t want to ruin those hopes and let jae down, but he has no idea and is about to admit it when one crazy thought crosses his mind.

“uh…” he begins, not so confident with what he’s about to say.

jae keeps looking at him expectantly, and for the first time in months he realizes how awful it is to be put on the spot like this. everyone else turns their attention to him too, but they’re more amused than anything, waiting for something stupid to come out of his month. no one knows why he chose literature of all subjects, being a business major in his last year, but what everyone does know is that whenever he says something here it’s usually said for fun, just to annoy the already annoyed jae even more. this time, however, he wants to be serious, at least for a moment or two.

“i think, every person in that novel wanted to sin or, at least, thought of that. unlike hester, however, they didn’t do anything, so there wasn’t anything to reveal, but it crossed their minds anyway.”

brian is surprised with himself, but he knows the embarrassment is worth it when jae flashes him a smile and fails to stay serious afterwards. with that, jae announces that the lecture is over, but doesn’t forget to give them another huge homework (an essay on why exactly hester was different from others in the novel) and once again reminds about the big test coming up next month. most of the students leave as soon as he lets them, but some stay behind to ask questions about the essay or the upcoming test.

brian looks at the watch on his wrist and worries his bottom lip between his teeth for a few seconds. he has another class in twenty minutes, one that he can’t be late for, but the desire to kiss jae is painfully strong. it’s been a few days since he last stayed at jae’s apartment because they were both busy with homework (but on different sides – brian working on his assignments and jae reading through countless essays), which also means he hasn’t kissed jae’s plump pink lips for an equally long time.

jae doesn’t notice him, too busy answering questions and chatting with his students with a smile never leaving his face. brian almost starts sulking because of that, because he doesn’t have much time left and jae is still ignoring him, but then realizes with a heavy sigh that ignoring jae is what he’s been doing for the past hour and a half.

“mr. kang?” he asks suddenly, clearly surprised to see him among other students. “can i help you with something?”

“yes,” brian replies with a shy smile, hoping that it works.

“okay,” jae nods at him and tells others to go, joking that this problem will take a lot of time to solve.

brian makes sure everyone leaves the classroom and then reaches jae’s table in no time. jae lets out a surprised sound when brian suddenly pushes him against the blackboard, holding both of his wrists tightly as he crashes their lips together, but kisses back just as eagerly.

“driving me crazy,” brian manages to whisper in between the kisses. “in that outfit, talking about sins…”

“brian, stop,” jae warns him in a quiet voice, breathing hard too. “stop, you have to go before anyone catches us.”

“do i look like i care about that?” brian groans, but lets go when jae gently nips at his upper lip.

“i do,” he replies and sits on the edge of the table. “besides, it’s you who’s a walking sin, not me. kept distracting me with that look on your face, surprised i managed to keep talking.”

brian smirks when jae tells him about the effect he has on him. there’s a knock on the door and he immediately steps back, trying to pretend that he wasn’t kissing his teacher just a minute ago. he looks at jae, lips red and swollen from his near aggressive attack on them, cheeks flushed red, and guesses he doesn’t look any better right now. if the person behind that door knows how to think, it’ll be pretty easy to put the puzzle together.

jae seems to be thinking the same, looking desperate and angry at the same time. they both know nothing bad is going to happen if people find out about their relationship, because they’re both adults and started dating even before brian decided to get a degree after two years of working in a café, when jae’s just began working as a literature teacher, but… there’s always a but in every situation, and their “but” is too strong to ignore. they have to keep it secret in order to protect jae’s career: he certainly doesn’t want his students to know their teacher is bisexual and dating their own classmate, a guy. his students are fine, he keeps saying, but they both know how little time it takes for the word to spread, so it’s best for them to keep quiet.

brian doesn’t waste time thinking and immediately pretends to be sick. it takes jae a few seconds to realize what he’s doing, but then a smile adorns his face as he puts on a worried teacher mask and kneels next to brian. the door opens right when they begin this little play and reveals university’s one and only music teacher, jae’s old friend wonpil. it’s his first year at university, at least as a teacher, but he’s the only person there who knows about their relationship and they both sigh in relief.

“come on, get out of here,” jae nudges brian with his foot.

he quickly gets up and grabs the bag from the table, but then looks at the watch and notices there are still three minutes left and hurries to give jae another deep kiss before running out of the door. wonpil watches that with an understanding smile, chuckling at the way jae’s ears turn red after the kiss.

“honestly, i’m so surprised you two haven’t been caught yet,” he says as he hands jae a book. “here, you forgot it in my class.”

“thank you,” jae takes the book and places it on the table. “he’s a real nightmare.”

“come on, he’s cute,” wonpil muses with a smile. “although i must admit he can be really annoying sometimes.”

“he’s going to be the end of me and my career,” jae says with a sigh as he sits on the table again. “never listens. he’s going to fail literature.”

“how can he fail it when he’s dating you?” wonpil asks, surprised.

“it’s not that i talk about romantic or historical novels at our dates,” jae shakes his head with yet another sigh. “he doesn’t even like reading, prefers movies. he only attends every class because he wants to see me more often and piss me off too. i’m happy they only have literature once a week.”

“well, maybe you’re just being too soft,” wonpil suggests when the lesson begins. “you free?”

“yeah, just this class for today,” jae shrugs. “more tiring than five classes in a row because of him. i can’t make him study when he doesn’t want to.”

“maybe suggest getting reward for it?”

“huh? i’m his reward, try to resist those lips on your body…”

wonpil laughs, because it’s not the first time they’re having this conversation. ever since jae officially became brian’s literature teacher, he would complain to his friend almost every day. for someone who enjoys literature so much, having to teach his own boyfriend who hates reading is a really tough task. although wonpil would love to help, he knows he can’t do anything, but he makes sure to always be jae’s shoulder to cry on, just like right now. he steps closer to pat jae on the back but freezes upon noticing a piece of pink paper in the middle of jae’s table. he lightly nudges jae with his shoulder and nods towards the paper.

“must be from brian,” he guesses.

“you little shit,” jae hisses when he finishes reading the note, but he isn’t really angry or anything. “he asked me for a private literature lesson this evening. here. hell no! i’m never having sex on this table again! i’ll personally make sure he fails the exam if he doesn’t start studying!”

wonpil laughs so hard he almost falls on the floor.

“what’s so funny?” jae almost pouts at him.

“you’re funny when you try to be angry with him,” wonpil explains shortly. “doesn’t work.”

“but he has to realize that this is important! i bet he won’t write this test even if i tell him what novel he’s going to get for it!”

“oh,” wonpil’s face becomes serious again. “then, it means you have to actually get angry.”

“guess so,” jae confirms with a grim expression on his face.

he doesn’t like the idea, no, he hates it, but it seems that wonpil is right: there’s no other way to help brian pass the exam. although, he could, of course, just do everything for him, he’s a teacher after all, and he’s going to show brian just that.

ah, he has a feeling he’s going to regret it.


	2. Chapter 2

“babe? are you mad at me?”

jae blinks sleepily at the question, it takes him a few seconds to understand what brian is talking about. he sighs, snuggles closer and hides his face in the crook of brian’s neck. he’s not ready for this conversation, not right now when they’re in bed naked, not when they have a whole weekend to spend together. it’s been a while since they both had free time during the weekend, and jae doesn’t want to argue now.

“not yet,” he murmurs quietly, but he knows brian is not going to be satisfied with the answer.

“what do you mean not yet?” brian asks with a puzzled expression on his face.

his hold on jae’s waist becomes a little tighter as he tenses. jae wants to keep it quiet, playful, even though he promised wonpil and, more importantly, himself to deal with it before it’s too late, before brian does fail that literature exam. he leaves a soft kiss on the skin of brian’s neck, gives it a gentle bite and then makes a move to sit up. brian lets him do so, but jae can see slight fear in his eyes and feels a tug on his heart.

“you’re here doing me instead of doing your homework,” he begins carefully, watching brian’s reaction to his words.

“you know your homework is going to fuck me better than i will ever be able to fuck you?” brian tries to keep the playful mood too, but jae knows he’s being serious right now.

he hates literature, but more than the subject itself he hates having to do homework. he begged jae to let him skip that part, but jae’s a teacher after all, and it’s not really up to him to decide who gets to be this privileged – especially considering that he’s late to each and every literature class. sure, they’ve been dating for almost six years, are about to buy an apartment of their own and finally move in together for real instead of trying to fit everything into jae’s tiny apartment, but there are still some things where jae doesn’t let it get too personal, university included. at first, when brian mentioned taking literature as an additional art class, he just laughed but didn’t take it too seriously, but when it happened for real, he almost got angry.

now, he tries to control his emotions as best as he can. he doesn’t care if brian hates literature, it’s his right, although he must admit it hurts a little, but what he does care about is brian’s degree and his own career.

“you’re doing just fine,” jae replies, but avoids looking at him.

“hey, look at me,” brian whispers and tilts his chin up. “you’re being unusually weird tonight. talk to me.”

“can we please do it later?” jae asks, biting on his lower lip in order to stop it from trembling too much.

“you sure?” brian sounds worried now. “i want you to be open with me, that way i can understand and change things.”

“i don’t want you to get mad at me,” jae mutters quietly. “no, don’t say anything, i know you better. let’s not do this tonight.”

“alright,” brian agrees, but jae knows he’s not completely convinced. “what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“i don’t know,” jae shrugs. “wanna spend the whole day with you.”

“then i’m taking you out for an actual date!” brian promises, now excited, and jae is grateful he managed to distract brian. “you should spend at least one day away from your books.”

there they go again.

it’s jae who tenses this time; brian notices that and realizes what he just said, but it’s too late now. jae rolls his eyes and makes a move to get up from the bed, but brian’s reactions are faster and he catches jae by the wrist and pulls him in for a hug. jae ignores that because he knows there’s no way to escape now, and goes silent instead, clearly hurt. brian regrets saying those words, he didn’t even mean it in a bad way this time, didn’t mean to hurt his boyfriend.

“shit, babe, i’m sorry,” he says quickly. “i didn’t mean it like this.”

“yeah?” jae doesn’t even look at him. “what did you mean then?”

in fact, jae knows brian didn’t want to say anything bad or hurtful. although he doesn’t like reading and can’t ever understand jae’s love for books, he learned to respect that and never laugh at it. and still, whenever he makes a playful remark about jae spending all his time on some dead guys instead of hanging out with him or his friends, whenever he decides to open his mouth and comment on the seemingly boring book in jae’s hands, jae gets really, really annoyed. back at school, he was laughed at for that, even bullied by the “cool kids”, so every time it happens in his adult life, even as a joke, he’s brought back to those times.

“you spend all of your time working, you’re either reading books or staring at the screen reading articles, or you’re busy reviewing essays and all that stuff. your eyes are constantly tired, you never let yourself rest, and that is something that worries me. that’s it, that’s what i meant, but i’m not as good at picking the right words as you are. i’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“let’s just… let’s just sleep, okay?” is all jae says, but brian knows it means he’s not ready to talk about it.

he nods and gives jae a kiss on the forehead, careful not to overstep anymore. jae yawns like a little kitten and curls up by his side, falling asleep shortly after, but brian stays awake for what feels like a couple of hours, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it’s time for him to start taking literature seriously.

he knows it’s not going to happen, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

////

when jae opens his eyes, brian is no longer in bed. jae spots him sitting at the table, working on something with his, jae’s laptop. it’s not surprising to see that: brian often has to finish some last-minute work when he stays over. with a quiet sigh, jae slips out of bed and only gets to put on his boxers and jeans when brian turns around to greet him. he smirks, looking pretty satisfied when he notices a few hickeys blooming yellow and purple right above jae’s ribs. jae blushes at that and hurries to put on a clean shirt from his closet, but gets confused and then stuck.

“sometimes you’re such a baby,” brian murmurs as he gets up from the chair and helps jae with the shirt. “good morning.”

“morning,” jae mutters, leaning in to steal a quick peck from his lips. “is it still morning?”

“around eleven,” brian shrugs. “got breakfast done, but you were sleeping like a child, so i didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

“or, rather, took it as an opportunity to work on your boring assignments,” jae jokes and enjoys the way brian’s ears turn pink at that. “okay, what’s for breakfast then?”

brian is quick to catch his chance to change the topic, he even looks excited when he tells jae about the wonderful pancakes he made this morning. jae watches with a shy smile how brian adds another plate on the table and pours a generous amount of apple sauce on it before stepping aside and letting him pick as many pancakes as he wants. jae isn’t feeling that hungry yet, so he only takes a few, but regrets the decision the moment he tastes the first one.

“gosh, this is perfect,” he manages to say with his mouth full.

at this point brian’s cheeks turn bright red too and jae can’t deny that he’s enjoying it a little too much. he’s used to the fact that brian is usually the king in his kitchen, always making something tasty, and all that’s left for him is eating as much as he can and constantly praising his boyfriend for those incredible cooking skills.

“so, you remember we have a date today?” brian begins carefully.

he’s stubborn enough to argue for a few moments when jae wants to feed him, but soon gives up and opens his mouth. while he chews on the pancake, jae also finishes the last one and gets up to clean the dishes. he isn’t sure if he really wants to go anywhere today, but doesn’t know how to bring this up and gets himself busy instead. a moment passes in silence, but then brian finally stops chewing and comes to hug jae from behind, almost causing him to drop the plate.

god damn.

“i’m sure you’re going to like this one,” brian promises, but just the sound of him whispering that is already enough to send shivers down jae’s spine.

“what’s that?” he asks, genuinely curious more than anything.

“we’re going to a bookstore!” brian announces proudly and this time jae does drop the plate.

of course, this isn’t the first time that brian tries to make jae feel a little better by taking him to the places that he likes, but it’s their little rule to never make the other do things they’re not enjoying (with a few exceptions, such as when the other willingly and stupidly signs up for a class he hates). going to a bookstore falls right into that category, that is unless brian is planning to hide in the corner and read comic books instead. jae snorts, the image of that too bright in his head. brian notices that he’s hesitant too.

“i thought you were going to like it,” he explains why he chose that of all places. “i’ll buy you a few books, anything you choose.”

“but…” jae begins and bites on his lip for a second. “but are _you_ going to like it? i thought we agreed on that…”

“seeing you happy is more than enough,” brian assures him with a warm smile. “besides, i’m taking you out for dinner afterwards, so…”

he doesn’t need to finish to know that he’s already convinced jae, so two hours later they find themselves in the middle of an old fancy bookstore, selling pretty much everything a person could ask for. just like jae predicted, brian is more interested in comic books than actual books, but it doesn’t bother him because he feels this bookstore is like heaven, to say the least. he stops by the shelf that has most of the classic books from the nineteenth century and carefully takes the book that is so dear to his heart, that he’s going to tell his students about next week. with a mischievous smile, jae takes the book to where brian is and tugs on his sleeve to catch his attention.

“this,” jae says and shoves the book in brian’s hands. “i’m buying ‘moby-dick’ because my copy is too old and i need a new one.”

to be completely honest, this isn’t much of a lie: he really needs to get a new copy because he read his own book at least thirty times and it doesn’t look good at all nowadays. and still, jae feels unnecessarily guilty when brian pays for ‘moby-dick’ and a few other books that he really needed or wanted to get. for himself, he only gets a thick notebook with beautiful blue paper, saying he’ll need it for lyrics because blue is the color of inspiration for him.

“how about you dye your hair blue?” brian asks when they step out of the bookstore and head to the restaurant where brian made reservations yesterday.

“i’ll get fired,” jae answers patiently, although they both know it’s not going to happen. “besides, you love me anyway, so why go out of my way to impress you even more?”

“that’s true,” brian agrees with a smirk. “not sure if i would be able to listen to your lectures with your hair ice blue. still, i believe you’d rock that color.”

“as if you ever listen to my lectures to begin with,” is all jae says, choosing to ignore the compliment. 

brian doesn’t have anything to say back and their playful argument dies down just as quick as it began. the rest of the evening is peaceful: jae doesn’t want to ruin their almost perfect date by commenting on brian’s still unfinished essay (to be honest, he doubts that brian even opened any articles related to the novel, let alone the book itself) and brian is smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself. after all, their relationship lasted for six years for a reason – they respect each other as much as they love each other.

“stay for the night?” jae asks later in the evening when brian walks him home.

“oh, if you insist,” brian whispers against his lips before sealing the gap.

unfortunately, what he expected to be a fun saturday night turns into a pretty lonely time because brian suddenly remembers about a paper he’s supposed to hand in on monday and spends half of the night trying to write something appropriate. jae doesn’t mind; he prefers seeing brian’s broad back and knowing he can stop him from overworking himself rather than not being able to do anything. he spends the night with his new copy of “moby-dick”, sitting in the cozy armchair with a mug of hot chocolate beside him. he also makes one for brian and gives him a kiss on the cheek before returning to the book.

jae gets so lost in the mysteries and depths of the ocean that he only remembers about the real world when it’s way past four. brian is still working, but jae knows he can barely keep his eyes open at this point, so he decides to take the situation in his own hands – literally. he clears his throat, reminding brian about his presence, and then places both hands on brian’s shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. brian glances at the clock, then turns around and jae can see how tired he is.

“let’s get you to bed,” he says quietly.

brian tries to protest, says something about the need to write two more pages, but jae doesn’t want to listen. he sends brian to brush his teeth and gets the bed ready in the meantime, then tucks brian in and even goes as far as singing a lullaby to make sure he doesn’t have any desire left to get up and go back to work. it doesn’t take long before soft snores fill the room and jae gives brian one last kiss on the forehead, then turns the lights off. he stands in the middle of the room for a few more minutes, thinking hard, hesitating, but then nods to himself and takes brian’s backpack, picks the book up from the armchair and moves to the kitchen. it’s half past five when he slips his new copy of “moby-dick” in brian’s backpack and takes the notebook he usually uses during jae’s lectures.

it's not the first time, but jae still shakes his head in disbelief when he sees that the pages are filled with anything but his words – lyrics, doodles, even lectures on other subjects. anything, but literature.

once again, jae questions the stupid decision brian made when he signed up for literature, but only sighs as he opens the last few pages and gets to writing – answering his own question about why hester from “the scarlet letter” was different from everyone else in the novel. he doesn’t write the full essay, just a few important paragraphs, because he knows brian isn’t as bad with words as he claims to be and will definitely find a way to rephrase everything so that it sounds as if he was the one writing it.

to be honest, jae doesn’t completely understand himself too: it’s not like they’re both trying to fool someone like wonpil or other teachers, and when brian hands in his homework he’s going to know that most of that essay was done by him, and yet… being his teacher, jae knows he can’t let brian do nothing and still pass the exam, but being his boyfriend, jae also doesn’t want him to spend too much time doing something that he doesn’t even like.

he isn’t sure what’s right and what’s wrong anymore, he just wants to help brian, yet doesn’t know what’s going to work best in this situation. all he knows is that no matter what he does, brian is still going to be his worst student ever, and he can’t even say that he doesn’t like it. jae sighs when he notices that, being too sleepy himself, he accidentally called hester easter and grabs the pen to correct his mistake.

when brian finds him in the morning, he’s asleep – head on the table, in the most uncomfortable position one can imagine. he mumbles something about easter when brian carefully picks him up and carries back to bed that is still warm and cozy. no matter how inviting it looks, he doesn’t let himself linger for too long and returns to the kitchen to make himself a cup of strong black coffee and keep working on that damn paper. his heart skips a beat when he notices his own notebook on the table and sees something written in jae’s handwriting in one, two… four pages!

“this is exactly what i meant when i said he’s working too much,” he says to himself with a sigh. “and what for! i don’t even care if i fail this stupid exam, it’s not like they’re going to kick me out for that in my final year. hypothetically, though, they could… nah, not going to happen.”

he proceeds talking to himself as he makes another plate of pancakes and sips on his coffee, as if discussing the possibility of not being able to graduate because of failing literature with himself. if jae was here, he thinks, he would definitely have something to say.

the closer this exam is, the more he regrets taking this class whatsoever, but is then reminded of jae’s smile and how much sweeter his kisses taste when they’re about to get caught and can’t help but grin at that. he’s not going to fail literature; he knows that much.

“but if i don’t finish that paper on time, i better get ready to get kicked out of university,” he mutters with a frown and hurries back to the room where jae is still asleep and his paper is still waiting for him.

he doesn’t notice the book in his backpack and jae’s note attached to it until he gets home that evening.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just saying, i love comments... well, more like screaming into the void haha  
> anyways enjoy

needless to say, brian gets so busy during the week that he doesn’t even bother to open the book. he thinks that jae simply forgot it in his backpack and hopes to catch him between the lectures to return it, but never gets lucky enough. the book has a beautiful cover, that is something he can’t deny, but he really doesn’t have time to check its’ content, instead drowning in countless assignments.

the first time he sees jae in this whole week is when he gets to his literature class. he stays true to himself and arrives ten minutes late, interrupting whatever jae’s been talking about. surprisingly, jae doesn’t scold him for being late this time, just gives him a short nod and asks to take a seat. brian does as told, eyes never leaving jae’s face, but he can almost sense that something is off.

they didn’t get a chance to talk much in those few days, which is why brian never got to catch him at university to return the forgotten book, but it happened quite a lot in the past and jae never got mad because of it, not even once. he understands, and, if anything, he’s probably busy more often than brian is, so he can’t really be the one to judge here. and yet, jae refuses to even look at him and spends half of the lecture with his back facing brian as he keeps talking about the upcoming test and the books that he’s chosen for that one.

of course, brian gets surprised when he suddenly changes the topic and moves on to talking about someone called herman melville. more so, he gets particularly surprised when jae finally looks at him and asks why the color white is so important in that melville’s book “moby-dick” and what’s the meaning behind it. brian can’t quite tell if jae’s really expecting to hear an answer from him or if he’s just messing around, trying to get his attention.

he shrugs, because he truly doesn’t know, and immediately realizes it was the wrong move because jae does get angry at that. now that his little goal is achieved and jae looks truly mad at him in front of all his classmates, brian doesn’t feel the triumph of that. if anything, he wants to crawl into a dark corner and stay there forever because jae isn’t just angry, he’s also disappointed and hurt.

“you’re going to fail the exam, i can promise you that,” jae says in a cold voice.

brian knows it’s serious, he truly does, but something stupid inside makes him go on before he gets a chance to stop himself.

“you’re the one responsible for that exam, so you could just…”

he is quick to bite his tongue right before the words “let me pass because you know why i’m here” become known to the world. he regrets saying that, but knows there’s nothing he can do about it when jae narrows his eyes at him and says something everyone’s usually so afraid to hear.

“just because you can speak to me in that tone doesn’t mean you’re going to have good grades. it doesn’t work like that, kang, and i’ve had enough of your disrespect. you signed up for the course, so from now on, you’re going to write two additional essays on every book we discuss in this classroom. your first one is going to be the question that you failed to answer just now. got it?”

when jae speaks, there’s no softness to his voice anymore, instead brian feels sharp coldness and something else, something that he doesn’t have a name for. brian nods and their interaction is over just like that; no one’s laughing at him, but he also knows everyone thinks he deserved what just happened. in fact, he knows it too, but is too stubborn to admit that, yet, for once, he feels guilty for making jae this upset and starts taking notes – after all, he still has an essay to write.

it's not as bad as he thought, although he still doesn’t understand what exactly is happening in that novel. time flies by quickly and he even finds himself almost enjoying the lecture – that is until the moment when jae asks them to write an analysis of melville’s style. brian already knows it’s going to be the end of him, but when everyone in the classroom starts groaning and whining about the homework being too difficult, he realizes how doomed he is.

“don’t forget to hand in your essays on ‘the scarlet letter’!” jae reminds them cheerfully, as if he didn’t just give them another difficult one to work on.

“professor,” brian begins carefully, fully aware that there are people staring at him as he comes up to jae’s table.

“yes?”

jae doesn’t even bother to look at him, busy trying to find something in his bag, but brian knows that if jae did, it’d be a very cold look, judging by his voice. alright, so jae _is_ mad for real. he sighs.

“could i perhaps use your help while working on the essay? there are some parts in the book that i can’t understand,” brian lies shamelessly, because he knows this is the only way for him to get this essay done.

“first you reject my offer and now you’re asking for it yourself? make it make sense, kang,” jae almost hisses, but it only confuses brian even more. “now, if you please give me your essay on ‘the scarlet letter’, you may be free.”

that’s it, brian thinks to himself as he leaves the classroom, end of the conversation. he doesn’t look where he’s going, too busy thinking about jae’s words and his reaction to everything today, and only stops when he bumps into someone. he mumbles a barely coherent apology and is about to keep going when that person catches him by his elbow. brian looks up, confused and annoyed, but relaxes when he sees it’s just wonpil.

“so, i’m assuming you just had literature?” wonpil asks.

brian shrugs.

“it’s that obvious?”

“well, to be honest, i knew jae was going to be pissed, but i hoped you weren’t that much of an idiot. too bad, it won’t be easy to make up for it now, and you could easily escape that if only you opened the god damn book.”

“what do you mean?”

“lord help me with this guy,” is all wonpil says before he pats his shoulder and leaves.

brian honestly understands nothing, but decides to listen to jae’s friend’s advice and, with a struggle, fishes the book out of his backpack. when he opens it on a random page, he spots a note slipped inside and wants to hit the nearest wall with his head when he reads it and finally realizes two things. first, why exactly he was yelled at, and second, how much of an idiot he truly was.

_this book is one of my favorites, please give it a read or at least google some stuff about it before your next lecture! we’re going to discuss that one and i’m really curious about your opinion. i know you don’t like reading, and this book is quite tricky, but please, make one exception for me! ^^ love you._

he’s never felt so guilty in his whole life, not even when he accidentally brought jae the wrong order from his favorite café and had him sneezing and throwing up like crazy for two hours straight.

brian really wants to skip the next two classes, but he knows it’s not going to help him gain jae’s trust again and instead chooses to sit as far as he can and read the book. although he does understand why jae would love it, he finds it incredibly difficult to go through the white pages, getting lost in the world of black letters too soon for his liking. he falls asleep twenty pages through the book and, of course, ends up being yelled at again, this time by a different teacher he doesn’t give a damn about, but that doesn’t stop him.

he texts jae as soon as he’s done with classes for the day, not really expecting him to reply, and doesn’t get surprised when jae ignores him and his ten messages. that means, the only way to talk to him is during his next literature class that is a week away from now. just the thought of not being able to talk to jae, hold him close, hear his loud laugh and kiss him senseless is enough to scare the hell out of him, but he knows if he fails now, jae’s going to sulk for a much longer period of time.

now that he can’t talk to jae, brian tries to imagine which parts of the book jae loves more and why, tries to look at it from jae’s perspective. he spends two more nights trying to get through it before he gives up and googles the summary, but knows it’s a win already because he’s never been interested in doing that before.

while working on the essay, he finally learns that the color white in this novel means having no color, which equals being completely meaningless, and finds himself enjoying this thought more than he would have ever done before. he ends up writing almost ten pages about why that whale is white and why white has so many meanings while being absolutely meaningless in itself, writes about reasons why searching for truth in the depths of the ocean (which is, as he learns, one’s mind) is a mission with nothing but failure awaiting at the end.

but when he so much as tries bringing that up during his next literature class, jae chooses to ignore him and instead asks someone else. to be fair, he doesn’t look much better than brian: face all pale with awful bags under his eyes, shirt messy and even a little dirty in some places, hands trembling. jae definitely needs to have a good sleep, but brian knows he’s too stubborn to give up like that. he still doesn’t want to talk even when brian puts his essay on the table, but this time he is determined to at least get jae to look at him.

“can we talk?” he asks, trying not to show how nervous he is.

“i’m mad at you,” jae replies but brian sees how difficult it is for him to remain cold.

his slight pout betrays him, but brian decides not to push it further.

“when can we talk then?” is all he says and he can tell jae is surprised by how collected he is.

“next time.”

this isn’t giving him any information and jae still refuses to look at him. brian sighs.

“what are we going to study next time? i want to be prepared.”

“vanity fair.”

“thank you.”

brian can almost feel jae’s eyes on his back when he turns around and makes his way out of the classroom, but does his best to follow the plan he’s just come up with. now that he’s studying like he was supposed to, jae doesn’t have so many reasons to be angry with him anymore, and brian knows it’s a matter of a few minutes to make him smile again.

that is exactly what he’s planning to do when he enters the classroom at eight in the evening, totally not surprised to see jae reading through today’s essays. jae doesn’t notice his presence, for which brian is very grateful for, but he can see that jae is about to pass out from lack of sleep and knows he has to be quick – after all, jae is as stubborn as he is, so it’s going to be a piece of work to get him to stop doing whatever he’s busy with. and yet, just when he’s about to cough to make his presence known, jae takes another essay in his hands and brian notices his own handwriting.

after all the ignoring and silent treatment from jae’s side, it’s such a pleasure to see how he’s clearly fighting with himself in hopes to stay calm and collected. brian watches with a wide grin how jae frowns and moves his lips silently, repeating some of the lines he’s written, how a smile, then another make their way on jae’s pale face, how he nods, agreeing with his point of view. when jae puts his essay away with a grade brian can’t see, he decides the time has come and steps out of his hiding place.

jae is so exhausted that he isn’t even trying to hide that he is completely shocked. on any other day, brian would chuckle at his confused expression and the way he blinks more often than necessary, but today he only comes closer and sits on the edge of the table, careful not to push into jae’s personal space just yet. he notices that jae gave him the highest grade (with a few comments in the corner that he still can’t see well), but is quick to erase the smug smile from his face.

“are you still mad at me?”

“yes,” jae whispers tiredly, but he doesn’t look all that convinced himself.

brian takes it as a “no”, but he wants to hear it directly from jae.

“alright,” he nods. “but you’re going to come with me anyway.”

“why would i?” jae asks with a snort as he picks another essay to grade and review.

brian catches his wrist seconds before his fingers touch the paper, causing jae to look him in the eye for the first time in three weeks. there’s no anger, no coldness anymore, just despair and the desire to be held with love and tenderness, but jae is stubborn, too stubborn to admit that, so he looks away.

“because i’m worried about you,” brian answers in an equally quiet voice. “look, i think we’re even now.”

“what do you mean?” jae mumbles with a puzzled expression on his face as he reaches for the paper once again.

“you wanted me to study, you were eager to help, but i was an idiot and didn’t even open that book, but now that you’ve shown me how painful it is to be away from you, now that i’ve seen that here, in this classroom, you’re a teacher first, and only then you’re my boyfriend… now i’m finally studying so that i don’t become your biggest disappointment in life.”

brian chuckles sadly before he continues.

“you, on the other hand, never know when to stop, so you keep working and working until you pass out. this isn’t right and you know it, but you won’t admit it, i know you. i want to help, but it’s not a game, it’s not about a degree or anything, it’s about your health, something you should prioritize more than anything else. i know you deeply enjoy what you’re doing, but sometimes it’s not enough, and this is exactly one of those times. do i actually have to show you like you had to show me?”

“but i still have a few more essays to grade and review,” jae protests, but it’s clear that he’s just about to give up.

brian knows jae only needs one more push, but it’s the most important one, so he has to be careful with what he says next. he’s about to make a stupid joke, say that those authors are dead anyway and won’t mind a short delay, but can almost see that this joke will start another fire and instead gently takes jae’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together. jae doesn’t mind, not in the slightest, and when brian dares to smile at him, he can swear he gets a faint smile in return.

“just for tonight, leave all your work here and let yourself rest. just this once,” brian almost begs.

a short nod has never meant so much for him.

“i’ll make dinner and you should take a bubble bath,” he chirps cheerfully as he helps jae get up from the chair and watches him stretch tiredly. “and you’re not going to worry about anything tonight.”

“look, bri,” jae begins, but he already knows what jae wants to say.

“uh-uh, no talking about it now, be a good boy,” he asks with a wink, which makes jae giggle.

“careful, i’m still your teacher,” he warns playfully and brian is beyond happy to see him joke again.

“nah, you’re my baby,” brian replies and takes a step closer to pull jae in by placing hands on his hips. “i love you.”

“just kiss me already,” jae rolls his eyes, but still blushes when brian does just that.

he finds it difficult to stop because it’s been three weeks since he got to feel jae’s lips moving against his own. jae sighs into the kiss, lets brian deepen it and for a moment he really forgets about everything, even about the fact that they’re kissing in the middle of an empty university classroom. he pulls away first, almost enjoying the whine that slips from brian’s lips, but quickly shushes him with another quick peck.

“your essay was really good,” he comments when they close the door and try to keep it all professional again. “i didn’t even know you had that spark in you, but i was pleasantly surprised.”

“it’s all thanks to your lectures,” brian replies with a smile, although jae’s lectures weren’t even that helpful because he spent more time drooling over him than taking proper notes.

“if you ask me, i think you deserve a reward for your hard work,” jae whispers, pretending to have dropped something on the floor. “but first…”

“you gotta rest,” brian insists and smiles when jae nods at that.

“first i’m going to listen to you and try to have a good night sleep. and i have one rule for tonight, if you don’t mind.”

“what’s that?”

brian only asks because it’s a polite thing to do, but in reality, he doesn’t care. even if jae comes up with a whole hundred of rules, he’s going to be okay with each and every one of them as long as he can have jae’s hand in his, like right now.

“you’re going to stay in bed with me. no homework for tonight, no phones or tv, just you and me.”

“best rule ever, if you ask me,” brian replies as he steals another kiss from jae’s lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm currently taking a break from writing so i'm just posting whatever i've already written whenever i feel like it, and i'm sorry for this delay haha  
> it's a bit rushed like i said in the beginning, but it's also something i finished writing in just a few days and i'm really glad about that lol. something i have actually FINISHED.
> 
> enjoy!

their next literature class is the last one before the big threatening test and it falls on the first day of winter. naturally, as the semester is coming to its end, brian gets less and less free time to spend with jae. it feels like every single teacher is trying to win in the competition called “who’s going to kill brian kang first”, because the amount of homework increases with each passing day.

strangely enough, another thing that increases is the time brian spends studying for his literature class. jae, bless his soul, came back to being kind and soft and stopped making him write those completely unnecessary additional essays, and yet, every evening after classes he finds himself in the corner of his worn out sofa with a book in his hands.

it’s not that he suddenly started to enjoy reading, nah, he gave up on that department back when he was ten or something, but the spark in jae’s eyes is totally worth all the time spent on this. he finally sees how happy jae is when he talks about all those books and the stories and meanings behind them, and this alone is enough for him to study for the upcoming exam as hard as he studies for the more important exams.

brian arrives to his final literature class five minutes early, surprising everyone, but not himself: honestly, the way jae’s jaw dropped at that was worth it all. he takes his seat and gives jae one of the sweetest smiles ever, but only gets a frown in return as his lips form a barely noticeable “don’t”. brian chuckles at that and shrugs, as if telling jae that he can’t stop himself, and raises his hand as soon as the lecture begins.

“yes, mr. kang?”

“what’s a perfect date for you?” brian asks, barely holding himself from wiggling his eyebrows at jae.

“excuse me? how is that related to the novel we’re talking about?”

“i just wanted to see if you have anything in common with the characters,” brian lies innocently.

“oh, really?” jae pretends to buy it, but brian knows it’s just to see how far he can get with that. “i don’t believe in perfect things, is that good enough of an answer?”

“maybe you just haven’t met the right person yet?” brian muses with a smile on his face.

jae’s cheeks flush bright red at that, but he still tries to remain calm. now that jae isn’t mad at him anymore, brian decided to take everything one step further and started shamelessly flirting with jae on every opportunity he got – or created them himself. that made jae extra clumsy, last time he even dropped the book he’s been holding, so usually brian doesn’t push it too much, but today… oh, today is different and he wants to give his annoying classmates a good show, something to remember. he is painfully aware of how much they enjoy all those scenes happening before their eyes, and today he wants to feed some of their curiosity – just a little bit.

“just to let you know, mr. kang, i’ve been in a relationship for the past six years, and i can assure you that i am pretty satisfied with how things go in my life, so i would appreciate it if you stopped the flirting.”

“but i’m being serious, professor,” brian tries weakly, but he knows the argument is lost.

this is, however, the first time jae ever mentioned dating someone, so it’s no wonder that people immediately stop paying attention to jae’s lecture and instead start trying to guess who got so lucky to win their lovely teacher’s heart. jae doesn’t seem to mind, he just sighs and tries to keep on with the lecture as if nothing happened. “vanity fair” doesn’t interest brian one bit, so he spends the rest of this lecture with another book in his hands. he knows jae notices that, but also knows that jae’s quick proud smile is addressed to him and no one else.

he can only hope that jae loves him enough to not give him questions on “vanity fair” during the actual exam.

////

the test turns out to be just as hard and big as jae had promised them. with a heavy, tired sigh brian looks at the piece of paper he’s been given and almost groans from the very first glance.

“first, you have to guess where this small extract is from,” jae reminds them in that soft voice of his, not helping at all. “and then you also need to write about the meaning of that extract in the big picture, the part it plays in the novel or a story, in other words, analyze it.”

brian looks around the classroom and notices that most of his classmates have the same stupid and confused expression on their faces as he does, and, if anything, it only encourages him to think harder. for some reasons, he thinks jae’s not going to be satisfied with the results, so he forces himself to get all his attention back to the single piece of paper on the desk.

he reads through it once, twice, but no matter how familiar it seems, he still can’t quite figure where exactly it is from. jae made sure that those extracts didn’t repeat themselves and that there weren’t any names or obvious details mentioned, but he was the one placing those papers on their tables before the class began, and that gives brian an idea. he looks up from his paper and finds jae looking directly at him, as if he was expecting something like this to happen. this is cheating, brian knows that, and yet he can’t help it when he draws a tiny whale in the corner of his own paper and shows it to jae.

there’s a short nod, but it is already enough for brian to smile widely. he still doesn’t recognize this extract, but figures that it’s something he wasn’t able to reach when he was reading the book. so, it must be somewhere near the very end.

fifteen minutes later, he gives up on that and instead writes another essay about why there’s no way to find real truth, hoping that jae will at least let him pass. brian feels guilty for not being able to perform well, but, after all, he did great compared to his situation two months ago, so he doesn’t worry too much.

“you’re _so_ predictable,” jae tells him on the same evening.

he’s just finished grading their tests and is now carefully stretching his limbs. they’re still at university, because jae refused to bring a huge pile of paper home and instead chose to read it all here. brian wasn’t in the mood to argue, so he just dropped his backpack on the floor and disappeared behind his thick notebook, busy reviewing for tomorrow’s exam. he did look up from time to time, only to find jae either frowning or sighing, and every time he was afraid that it was his paper that jae held in his hands.

now that jae’s finished, there’s no point trying to study anymore, so he puts the book down.

“what do you mean?” he asks, addressing what jae’s just said to him. “it’s that bad?”

“no,” jae replies, clearly trying to stop a smile from spreading across his face but failing. “you were really close to getting the highest grade, but i couldn’t just turn a blind eye to how you almost failed guessing the book.”

jae is still smiling at him, but brian doesn’t believe it. no, it can’t be happening, he just wrote some random bullshit instead of completing the task, how on earth would jae want to give him the highest grade for that?

“see for yourself,” jae notices the moment of silence and hands him the paper. “you did better than most of the class.”

“but i just… wait.”

“mhm,” jae nods with another smile, cheeks turning pink when brian starts laughing. “i knew you’d write this, so i gave you the extract that matches those thoughts of yours.”

“oh my god, i can’t believe it’s you who cheated,” brian admits, making jae blush even harder. “you… you’re such a strict teacher, this just doesn’t make sense.”

“i can assure you that i wouldn’t do it for anyone else,” jae tells him as he takes a few steps closer and sits on the edge of brian’s desk. “but you tried, and i thought you deserved to have this chance. since you did well on that paper, you can pick whatever you want to discuss on the exam. no questions on ‘vanity fair’, nothing like that.”

jae giggles and it’s so carefree that it makes brian want to laugh again too. instead, he gets up and gives jae a tight hug, hoping that this small action will get the message across. “i love you so damn much,” he wants to say, but jae kisses him before he gets the chance to open his mouth.

yeah, he definitely got the message delivered.

////

that is his last exam of the term, and, what a coincidence, it lands right on his birthday. at first brian was mad because it meant spending his birthday morning doing something he very much dislikes, but then slowly came to realize that it also meant spending time with jae, and that made everything better. jae, on the other hand, still seemed pretty upset because of it, since he wasn’t the one to pick and confirm the exam dates; he, just like brian, wanted to have this exam on another day.

but, to be honest, his birthday is actually the last thing concerning brian when he wakes up that morning. he knows it’s the most stupid thing ever, but still puts on his best suit and spends some extra time trying to style his hair instead of looking through his notes and essays on “moby-dick”. brian decided he was going to pick this book, not only because it was the only book he actually knew something about, but mostly because it was one of jae’s favorite books. ever since then, however, he was too busy with other things to open the book, and doesn’t bother to do so this morning too.

the bus ride to university seems a lot longer today, random people wishing him a happy birthday are utterly annoying, and jae’s classroom is the scariest place on earth. he arrives late as always, but knows it means nothing today because he somehow managed to convince jae that he was going to be the last person to take the exam. it took a while, because jae wanted to have him first, and it nearly ruined the plan brian’s been thinking about for the past few weeks, ever since jae subtly mentioned their relationship to stop his flirting.

he's alone in the hall, waiting for jae to call his name and invite him to the classroom, but his palms are so sweaty as if he was about to perform on stage in front of a huge crowd. he thinks back to the lyrics he wrote for jae and wishes he had more time to actually finish that song; maybe it’d make things easier now.

“brian kang,” jae calls in his soft melodic voice. “please come in.”

“good morning,” he barely manages to say as he makes his way to the desk right in front of jae’s table.

“morning to you too,” jae says casually. “are you ready?”

brian nods, too busy checking out jae’s black suit to actually say anything. he doesn’t know who came up with this stupid tradition of wearing formal clothes for the exam, at least on the teachers’ side, but today he’s grateful for this. at least he doesn’t look like an idiot in his own suit, that already makes everything a bit better.

“come on, i won’t bite,” jae smiles at him. “well, i could, but we’re here to talk about literature first.”

“stop that,” brian replies a little louder than he was intending to.

he regrets that almost immediately, because jae’s smile falls and he becomes serious again. now that he almost messed up from the very beginning, brian becomes extra careful and is almost proud of himself for handling jae’s questions well. although he gets confused a few times, he is sure he didn’t fail, and jae’s smiling eyes prove just that.

“that was very good, bri,” jae tells him once the discussion is over. “for someone who hates literature, you did incredible. i’m proud of you, really, even though i still think taking literature was a wrong move from your side.”

“i don’t hate literature,” brian blurts out. “but i think i’ve had enough.”

“what exactly do you mean by that?”

“i spent so much time trying to understand things that you love and enjoy, spent nights reading and writing essays, listening to your lectures, studying for the test… it made me think a lot.”

“huh?” jae looks completely confused and brian notices that his lips start trembling.

oh, shit, brian thinks, please don’t cry, this isn’t like _that_.

“we’ve been dating for six years, but i’ve only realized how much you love literature now. i feel like i’ve seen a new side of you, something i ignored for too long. i’m sorry for that. but i also realized that i’ve had enough of…”

“stop fooling around, get to the point,” jae almost begs now, and brian thinks he must do just that.

“listen, i can’t do this anymore. so, marry me.”

there’s a moment of silence, and it lasts so long that brian almost regrets saying those words, but then jae comes back to his senses and throws a huge pile of paper right at his face.

deserved that, brian thinks, but it doesn’t bother him that much, all he cares about is jae’s answer. jae’s crying now, his loud sobs filling the big classroom, and brian isn’t sure if he should give him a hug or get the hell out of here because jae won’t ever want to talk to him again.

of course, this isn’t exactly how he was planning to propose, not in the middle of his literature exam on his own birthday, and yet, life doesn’t always let you do things in a fitting, proper way. he would very much like to take jae out, have a fun night together and then go down on one knee somewhere in a big wonderful field with stars shining bright up in the sky, but… he just couldn’t wait any longer.

“i thought… i thought…”

jae doesn’t need to finish this phrase to let brian know what exactly he’s been thinking about this whole time. how could he be such an idiot! jae thought brian was about to break up with him, that brian started hating not only literature, but him too. oh god, this is so stupid.

“marry me,” he repeats quietly as he kneels next to jae’s still crying form and catches his wrist to place a soft kiss there. “i should’ve said it differently and maybe a lot earlier, but i was and still am such an idiot to do that. but i love you, i love you so much, and it can’t be changed, you see, not even literature can do this to us. if anything, i think i started to enjoy it more because of you.”

“i hate you,” jae hiccups, but they both know he doesn’t mean it. “i thought you were all dressed up for your birthday, had a surprise planned for you…”

“oh shoot, it’s my birthday,” he says awkwardly, still holding jae’s hand.

he slips the ring on jae’s finger, but jae doesn’t notice that, and brian decides not to mention it yet.

“well then, my birthday wish is for you to forgive me. i’m sorry i hurt you when all i wanted was to make you happy.”

“smartass,” jae snorts, but he doesn’t look mad or upset anymore. “say that again, then we’ll see.”

“marry me,” brian repeats for the third time, now grinning from ear to ear. “marry me, marry me, marry me!”

“shh, don’t shout like that,” jae looks genuinely concerned and brian can’t help but laugh at that.

everything is going to change if he says yes now, but somehow, jae doesn’t seem to understand that just yet. he still cares about their relationship being secret.

“marry me,” brian whispers this time. “will you marry me?”

“yes,” jae breathes out, now smiling too.

“best birthday gift ever.”

“i had another gift for you, but if you insist…” jae says in a playful tone.

“oh no, shut up and give me my gift right now then.”

“try to guess first.”

“i love you,” brian says suddenly, completely ignoring what jae’s just said.

“what? that’s not it!” jae protests, but brian doesn’t care anymore.

“i love you,” he repeats, louder this time, and jae seems to finally get the message.

“i love you too.”

when jae kisses him, brian thinks he doesn’t need any more gifts – he has already received jae’s love, and this is more than enough.

////

of course, they try to keep everything secret, but somehow, everyone still finds out. wonpil calls them in the morning, both to yell at jae for not telling him and to congratulate them. jae looks a little upset now that their relationship isn’t secret anymore, but a few slow kisses from brian are enough to make him smile again.

“wait, wait,” jae gently pushes him away when brian’s lips move down to his collarbones.

“what?” brian asks with a pout that makes jae giggle.

“i have an idea. let’s not tell them that we’ve been dating for six years, let them guess and talk. i know i mentioned being in a long term relationship, but… who said it was with you?”

“you’re such a baby,” brian rolls his eyes, but he can’t deny that he likes the idea. “alright, let’s do this. it should be fun.”

the news about them getting married is already shocking for everyone and causes a huge wave of rumors, but this story becomes university’s golden story because they “forget” to mention they’ve been dating for years.

now that everyone thinks that brian asked for his teacher’s hand in marriage completely out of the blue, they both become university legends. no one notices the way they smirk mischievously whenever they get asked about it.


End file.
